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Friday, June 17, 2011

Fun In the Sun Toddler-Style

‘Twas a lovely, warm afternoon, with sunshine, light breeze, and low humidity. A perfect day to play outside in the water. The day began with a thunderstorm, though, so we didn’t set up the pool. Instead, we tried out the new “kidwash” sprinkler that Greg put together the other day.

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It’s just simple construction using ¾” PVC pipe, a couple of tees and a couple of 90° elbows. To connect the garden hose, we used a $6 connector with a valve so we can turn the water off at the hose. This means we can adjust the flow from a dribble to a hard jet, and so we don’t have to run around to the back yard and shut it off at the hydrant.

I’d seen this idea posted somewhere online last summer, and had bookmarked it, but I lost all of my saved blog inspiration, hundreds of recipes, and all of my “favorites” when my old laptop died last winter. I was happy to come across a photo of a kidwash on Pinterest, which led me to some easy instructions.

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Our sprinkler just has holes drilled instead of the mister jets installed, and is just dry-fitted. If possible, we’d rather not glue it so it can be disassembled for winter storage. There was one time today when one of the feet popped off the leg, but I was able to turn the water off using the valve, and pop it back together, then turn the water back on. Easy peasy.

The kids LOVED it! I have Alan’s girls here this week and it was the perfect time to try it out. Reese wasn’t so keen on getting under the water, but enjoyed playing in it without getting soaked. Taylor and Bradley, on the other hand, had a wet blast.

(Taking a little break from the fun – Taylor has tattoos on her legs and arms, courtesy of Grace. I mention that only because so many people have asked us “what happened to her knee?”.)

If you’re interested in building one of these for yourself and you have any questions about how we did ours, please email me. Greg said it took him all of 10 minutes to cut the pipe and assemble, and it only took that long because he had to heat up the fitting for the hose to soften it before screwing in the valve piece, because the threads didn’t match up. You may not have to worry about that.

1 comment:

Rhonda said...

that looks like fun! and your 3 babies are so sweet looking.

my grandkids had water fun this week using the turtle sandbox lid as a "pool"
Elizabeth did not like getting her head wet either but Gavin sure did.

Isn't it nice to have hubbies that make stuff?